Apparatus for grinding flanges on structural members



Aug. 3, 1965 L. J. KACZMAREK 3,197,923

APPARATUS FOR GRINDING FLANGES ON STRUCTURAL MEMBERS Filed July 17, 19632 Shets-Sheet 1 H I W INVENTOR. j] l( LEON J. KACZMAREK zmwgzzgu AHarney g 3, 1955 L. J. KACZMAREK 3,197,923

APPARATUS FOR GRINDING FLANGES ON STRUCTURAL MEMBERS Filed July 1'7.1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 hrs-L 2- IN VE N TOR.

LEON J KACZMAREK A rrorney sarmzs APPARATUS FUR GRINDING FLANGES NSTRUCTURAL MEMBERS Leon .I. Kaczrnarelr, Chicago, 131., assignor toUnited States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Filed July17, 1963, Ser. No. 295,652 3 tllairns. (Cl. 51-179) This inventionrelates to an improved apparatus for grinding the edge of a flange on astructural member.

In some instances the flange on a structural member must be finished toa closely controlled width. ()ne example is a Z-bar used in a centersill section of a railroad car. Two such Z-bars are placed side-by-sidewith their upper flanges abutting and welded together to form the sill.The lower flanges have bolt holes which must be aligned accurately withbolt holes in the car frame. Hence the upper flanges must be dimensionedaccurately to align the two sets of holes. Conventional practice hasbeen to grind excess metal from overwidth flanges with a portable handgrinder moved back and forth along the flange, and to gage the widthrepeatedly as grinding progresses. This practice is costly andtime-consuming, especially with long structural members.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved grindingapparatus which quickly and accurately grinds a flange to apredetermined width without need for any back-and-forth motion nor forgaging during the grinding operation. 7

A further object is to provide a grinding apparatus which offers theforegoing advantages, yet is of simple construction and readilyadjustable for different flange widths. V

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I haveprovided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which isshown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of my improved grinding apparatuswith parts broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view with parts broken away; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross section on line III-dill of FIG- URE 2.

My grinding apparatus includes two spaced-apart angle iron frame members1d and 12, bolts 13 connecting said frame members, and wheels 14journaled on horizontal axes on said bolts in the space between theframe members. 0n the upper faces of the frame members I mount aconventional portable electric grinder which includes a handle 15, amotor 16, a shaft guard 17, and a grinding wheel 13; The mounting meansincludes a plate 19 hinged to the frame members near their back ends'andan inverted U-bolt 2d overlying the grinder motor 16 and fixed to saidplate. The underside of the horizontal leg of frame member It) carries alug 21 in which I mount a pin 22. I attach a plate 23 to the top of thegrinder shaft guard 17 with a U-bolt 24. A stem 25 extends throughoversize openings in plate 23 and in the horizontal leg of frame memberand is threadedly engaged in a tapped opening in pin 22. A hand Wheel 26is fixed to the upper end of stem 25, and a lock nut 27 is threadedlyengaged therewith immediately under plate 23. A compression spring 28encircles the stem in the space between the frame member 10 and the locknut 27. The frame members It) and 12 have cutouts 29 to accommodate thegrinding wheel 18. I attach a handle 30 to the grinder and anotherhandle 31 to the frame members near their front ends. The vertical legof frame member 12 carries an elongated bracket 32 to which I adjustablyattach an angle iron 33. Bolts 34 are fixed to the top of the angle ironand extend through openings United States Patent 0 "ice in the bracket.Lock nuts 35 are threadedly engaged with bolts 34 on both the top andbottom of the bracket. Wheels 36 are journaled on the angle iron onhorizontal axes.

In operation I place the apparatus over the flange F of a structuralmember with. the frame members 10 and 12 on opposite sides thereof andthe wheels 14 riding along the edge. I adjust the hand wheel 26 so thatthe grinding wheel 18 also engages the edge of the flange, and tightenthe lock nut 27. The hinged connection of plate 19 and the pivotalconnection of pin 22 makes such adjustment possible. As the grindingwheel wears, I make further adjustments to compensate. I adjust locknuts '35 to position wheels 36 so that they engage the web W of thestructural member when the flange F has been ground to proper width. Imove the apparatus continuously along the edge of the flange and operatethe grinder until the Wheels 36 make contact.

From the foregoing description, it is seen that my invention affords asimple apparatus for quickly and accurately grinding an overwidth flangeto a predetermined dimension. The apparatus overcomes any need forbackand-forth movement of the grinder over the flange and for gagingduring the grinding operation. Hence it enables the operation to beperformed much faster and at less cost.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of myinvention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, I donot Wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for grinding the edge of the flange on a structuralmember and thereby producing a flange of predetermined width, whichmember has a web extending perpendicularly to its flange, said apparatuscomprising a pair of spaced-apart frame members, wheels journaledbetween said frame members and adapted to ride along the edge of theflange while said frame members lie on opposite sides thereof, a grindermounted on the top of said frame members and having a grinding wheelpositioned to contact the edge of the flange, and means adjustablymounted on the lower portion of one of said frame members adapted toengage the web of the structural member when the flange has been groundto a predetermined width.

2. An apparatus for grinding the edge of the flange on a structuralmember and thereby producing a flange of predetermined width, whichmember has a web extending perpendicularly to its flange, said apparatuscomprising a pair of spaced-apart frame members, wheels journaledbetween said frame members and adapted to ride along the edge of theflange While said frame members lie on opposite sides thereof, a grinderpivotally mounted on the top of said frame members and having a grindingwheel positioned to contact the edge of the flange, means for adjustingthe position of said grinder with respect to said frame members tocompensate for wear in said grinding wheel, and means adjustably mountedon the lower portion of one of said frame members adapted to engage theweb of the structural member when the flange has been ground to apredetermined width.

3. An apparatus for grinding the edge of the flange on a structuralmember and thereby producing a flange of predetermined width, whichmember has a web extending perpendicularly to its flange, said apparatuscomprising a pair of spaced-apart angle iron frame members, wheelsjournaled between said frame members and adapted to ride along the edgeof the flange while said frame members lie on opposite sides thereof, agrinder pivotally mounted on the top of said members and having agrinding wheel, said frame members having cutouts to accomw modate saidgrinding wheel whereby said grinding wheel is positioned to contact theedge of the flange, a stem threadedly mounted for adjustment withrespect to one of said frame members and operatively connected with saidgrinder for adjusting the position thereof to compensate for Wear insaid grinding wheel, and a pair of wheels adjustably mounted on one ofsaid frame members adapted to engage the web of the structural memberwhen the flange has been ground to a predetermined width.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,410,554 3/22Dernbach 145-4 2,088,402 7/37 Borck 51-342 2,718,248 9/55 Dimmer 145-43,125,833 3/64 Wilde 51-102 LESTER SWINGLE, Primary Examiner.

10 I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Examiner.

1. AN APPARATUS FOR GRINDING THE EDGE OF THE FLANGE ON A STRUCTURALMEMBER AND THEREBY PRODUCING A FLANGE OF PREDETERMINED WIDTH, WHICHMEMBER HAS A WEB EXTENDING PREPENDICULARLY TO ITS FLANGE, SAID APPARATUSCOMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACE-APART FRAME, MEMBERS, WHEELS JOURNALEDBETWEEN SAID FRAME MEMBERS AND ADAPTED TO RIDE ALONG THE EDGE OF THEFLANGE WHILE SAID FRAME MEMBERS LIE ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, A GRINDERMOUNTED ON THE TOP OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS AND HAVING A GRINDING WHEELPOSITIONED TO CONTACT THE EDGE OF THE FLANGE, AND MEANS ADJUSTABLYMOUNTED ON THE LOWER PORTION OF ONE OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS ADAPTED TOENGAGE THE WEB OF THE STRUSTURAL MEMBER WHEN THE FLANGE HAS BEEN GROUNDTO A PREDETERMINED WIDTH.